From One Generation to Another

As I post this, I am just a few hours from playing Pomp and Circumstance on the organ while my very first class of 4-year-olds marches down the aisle to receive their high school diplomas. As I watch these students I taught all those years ago prepare to pass the threshold of adulthood, I wonder how this next generation will do.

As Christians, we of course desire for the next generation to be vibrant ambassadors for Christ, but how do we prepare them for the battle they face (in most cases are already facing) as they begin to step out and live their own independent lives?  This week, I came across a verse that basically outlines what the generation to come needs.

David had come to the end of his life, and it was time to appoint a successor. In 1 Chronicles 28, he speaks to all the assembled men who were over different aspects of his kingdom. He tells them what God has told him: that God had chosen the house of David to be the royal house, and chosen David’s son Solomon to be the next king.

Recently, I read through David’s words and was struck by his admonition to Solomon:

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever.” (v.9)

David, though imperfect, (a sinner—just like you and me) gave Solomon these three commands and three truths that also show us today what our next generation needs.

Know Him

What David wanted for Solomon as he stepped up to lead the next generation was first of all that he would know God. This is the foundation for each generation. No matter how godly an individual may be, the next generation still has to come to know God. There are no shortcuts. A personal relationship with God is the only thing that can set the next generation up for success. We must know God for ourselves.

And knowing God doesn’t stop at salvation. Yes, the most basic need for every individual is to repent of his or her sin and accept the gift of forgiveness through the finished work of Christ. But that is only the beginning. We must continue to grow in our knowledge of Him. For the Christian, getting to know God better should be our utmost desire. Paul expresses this in Philippians 3:7-10.

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death”

And the primary way we get to know God? By prayerfully reading, studying, pondering, and memorizing the Bible. Do you want to influence the generation to come? Teach them the importance of daily, consistent time with God in His Word—and then back that up by living it out yourself.

Serve Him

Knowing God leads to serving Him. James puts it this way:

“Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”(2:18)

Faith in God always leads to obedient action. Our society glorifies self-focus, but God values humble self-sacrificial service. Jesus Himself said,

“but whosoever will be great amog you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28)

And Jesus also said,
“Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

If we want to help the generation to come succeed, give them a vision for a heart of Christlike service—and demonstrate it yourself.

From the heart

Notice that it says to serve God “with a perfect heart.” The Hebrew word translated “perfect” here literally means complete. It comes from a root meaning safe, or at peace. It is not enough just to do all the things of the Christian life; each individual must do them wholeheartedly, as the outpouring of a heart made complete, secure and at peace with who God is and who He has made him or her to be. There is so much clamor about identity and being true to one’s self in our society, but the generation to come needs to know the truth that God is the one who determines who we are, and what we are designed to do for His glory and our good. Instead of looking to the family, peers, or the world for affirmation and approval, let us teach the next generation to seek to please God, to find their identity and fulfilment in knowing they have honored Him.

Colossians 3 really gets to the heart of this matter of identity and focus, but verses 3:23-24 sum it all up:

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

In order to teach the next generation to serve God from a heart complete in Him, we must first learn it ourselves. If we want to help the generation to come, we ourselves must serve with hearts rooted and complete in who God is and who He has made us each to be.

With Willing Mind

The word willing can have several attitudes. We might be “willing” to take out the trash, for example, however much we dislike the task, but we might also be “willing” to eat a piece of chocolate cake.  The Hebrew word translated willing falls more into the chocolate cake category. It means to be pleased with, to delight in. Not only are we to teach the next generation to serve God from a heart secure in Him, we are to teach them (and model it ourselves) to delight in the thought and in the performance of service to God. Our hearts and minds should reecho the heart of Psalm 40:8

“I delight to do Thy will, O my God, yea, Thy law is within my heart.”

Remember who God is

The next part of the verse highlights three truths about God. The first one is His omniscience:

“For the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts”

The generation to come is facing immense temptation. The easy availability of the internet and social media, combined with the seeming privacy and anonymity of our smartphones means that temptation is always just a scroll or a click away. This generation—and every generation—needs to remember that God sees all. Nothing can be hidden from Him. As Psalm 69:5 says,

“O God, Thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from Thee.”

Along with this, though, they need to remember the next two truths:

“If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for ever.”

Now, we know that once we are saved, nothing and no one can take us out of God’s hands (John 10:27-29) but the truth remains that if we seek God, He will be found, but if we reject Him, He will not bless us. James 4:6-8 puts it this way:

“But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you…”

One of the passages that has been dearest to my heart over the years is Jeremiah 29:11-14.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord…”

This promise was made to the Israelites in captivity, but it displays the heart of our unchanging God. If we seek Him, we will find Him—if we are seeking wholeheartedly.

But the converse is also true. If we do not seek Him, we will not find Him. If we want to prepare the generation to come, let us teach them that God sees all, and is truly “findable” when we seek Him!

And remember, dear Reader, whatever we want the next generation to be or do in their relationship with God, we must first put into practice in our own lives. We will not be able to perfectly model these things, but we can at least live each day in humble dependance on God, rejoicing in His power as we choose to trust Him and obey!

“And thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” 

Deuteronomy 6:6-7